With developments of the electronics industry, more components are being included in electronic devices, which has led to challenges in thermal management. Using reduced graphene oxide embedded with MQ silicone resin (RGO/MQ) nano-aggregates as the composite filler and silicone rubber (SR) as the matrix, a simple approach is designed to prepare RGO/MQ/SR composites. Reduced graphene oxide (RGO) was first used as a substrate for the growth of MQ silicone resin by hybridization, forming sandwich-like micro structured RGO/MQ nano-aggregates successfully. Then, RGO/MQ was integrated into α,ω-dihydroxylpolydimethylsiloxane based on the in situ solvent-free blending method, followed by condensation and vulcanization, fabricating the final RGO/MQ/SR composites. The effective strategy could enhance the adaptability between graphene and silicone matrix under external stimuli at room temperature by embedding nanoscale MQ into the interface of graphene/silicone as the buffer layer. Obvious improvements were found in both thermal conductivity and mechanical properties due to excellent dispersion and interfacial compatibility of RGO/MQ in the host materials. These attractive results suggest that this RGO/MQ/SR composite has potential as a thermal interface material for heat dissipation applications.

The thermally conductive properties of silicone thermal grease enhanced by hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) nanosheets as a filler are relevant to the field of lightweight polymer-based thermal interface materials. However, the enhancements are restricted by the amount of hBN nanosheets added, owing to a dramatic increase in the viscosity of silicone thermal grease. To this end, a rational structural design of the filler is needed to ensure the viable development of the composite material. Using reduced graphene oxide (RGO) as substrate, three-dimensional (3D) heterostructured reduced graphene oxide-hexagonal boron nitride (RGO-hBN)-stacking material was constructed by self-assembly of hBN nanosheets on the surface of RGO with the assistance of binder for silicone thermal grease. Compared with hBN nanosheets, 3D RGO-hBN more effectively improves the thermally conductive properties of silicone thermal grease, which is attributed to the introduction of graphene and its phonon-matching structural characteristics. RGO-hBN/silicone thermal grease with lower viscosity exhibits higher thermal conductivity, lower thermal resistance and better thermal management capability than those of hBN/silicone thermal grease at the same filler content. It is feasible to develop polymer-based thermal interface materials with good thermal transport performance for heat removal of modern electronics utilising graphene-supported hBN as the filler at low loading levels.

Microfibril cellulose (MFC), which is detrimental to soil cultivation and environmental protection, is derived from waste pineapple leaves. Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) was modified with polydopamine (PDA)—PDA@h-BN named pBN, and then combined with MFC to prepare a novel hybrid powder. The effect of PDA on h-BN and the binding effect between pBN and MFC were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Thermogravimetric (TG), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Fourier Transform-Infrared (FT-IR). Poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) was used as an eco-friendly polymeric matrix to prepare a pBN-MFC-PVA composite film. The mechanical strength, hydrophobicity, and thermal conductivity of the film were studied and the results confirmed that h-BN was chemically modified with PDA and was uniformly distributed along the MFC. The thermal conductivity of the pBN-MFC-PVA composite film increased with the addition of a pBN-MFC novel powder. MFC acted as “guides” to mitigate the h-BN agglomerate. In addition to the possible usage in the pBN-MFC-PVA composite film itself, the pBN-MFC hybrid powder may be a potential filler candidate for manufacturing thermal interface materials and wearable devices or protective materials.

Methoxyl-capped MQ silicone resin (MMQ) was first synthesized by the hydrosilylation of vinyl-containing MQ silicone resin and trimethoxysilane and then used in condensed room-temperature vulcanized (RTV) silicone rubber as a self-reinforced cross-linker. Results show that modified silicone rubber exhibits good light transmission. Compared with unmodified silicone rubber, the hardness, tensile strength and elongation of MMQ at the break are increased by 26.4 A, 2.68 MPa and 65.1%, respectively. In addition, the characteristic temperature of 10% mass loss is delayed from 353.5 °C to 477.1 °C, the temperature at maximum degradation rate is also delayed from 408.9 °C to 528.4 °C and the residual mass left at 800 °C is increased from 1.2% to 27.7%. These improved properties are assigned to the synergistic effect of the rigid structure of MMQ, the formation of a dense cross-linking structure in polymers and the uniform distribution of MMQ cross-linking agent in RTV silicone rubber.

MQ silicone resins represent a broad range of hydrolytic condensation products of monofunctional silane (M units) and tetrafunctional silane (Q units). In this work, a Bio-Phenol MQ silicone resin (BPMQ) was designed and synthesized by the hydrosilylation of hydrogen containing MQ silicone resin and eugenol in the presence of chloroplatinic acid. The structure, thermal property, and antibacterial property against Escherichia coli of the modified MQ silicone resin were investigated. The results showed that BPMQ has been prepared successfully, and the thermal stability of this modified polymer improved significantly because of the introduction of phenyl in eugenol. The temperature at the maximum degradation rate increased from 250 °C to 422.5 °C, and the residual yields mass left at 600 °C were increased from 2.0% to 28.3%. In addition, its antibacterial property against Escherichia coli was also enhanced markedly without adding any other antimicrobial agents. This improved performance is ascribed to special functional groups in the structure of eugenol. The BPMQ polymer is expected to be applied to pressure-sensitive adhesives and silicone rubber products for the biomedical field due to its reinforcing effect and antioxidant quality.